Edge of insanity: Chapter 9- Origins and robots:, a sonic the hedgehog fanfic

Author's notes:

Please tell me what you think, and Happy Halloween! A bit longer than I intended, but Halloween is one of my favourite time of the year and I figured you guys deserve something, enjoy this chapter.

-Anomalous123.

:: For those waiting for the next instalment on Edge of Insanity, please be patient. It is currently under edit and I am giving time together my thoughts to determine which direction I want to take. That said, if you have any ideas or need help coming up with ideas of your own, drop me a message under the same account name on here: Anmalous123, and I will invite you onto the server. ::

Chapter 9:

The city was too quiet for half-past seven at night. A few stragglers should be out and about, especially since the sun had yet to dip below the horizon. Knuckles glanced around nervously, wondering what was going on. Normally the city was bursting with teenagers and young adults ready for a night out.

A cold wind blew across the land, rustling their clothes and making his head turn as something grabbed his attention. To his right, a whirring noise sounded as a large, white robot turned onto the street. Knuckle's tensed, backtracking his steps and hid behind a decent-sized bush. The large machine looked like patchwork, some new metals melded into that of the older design. Upon its pristine surface held the G.U.N stigma, although it looked to be tacked on recently.

The sense of foreboding got stronger, causing the echidna's skin crawl and his legs want to run. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all. For now, though, he made slow movements, knowing sudden ones would startle Blue unnecessarily. There were robots in the area? Normally he would think of the doctor, but with the human's knowing about it and with them acting so clam, it couldn't have been him. But, as they had witnessed, the human's were long away from creating such feats, that makes him begs the question.

Could the two be working together?

The genius of the doctor seemed to be unrivalled by another except Tails. The kit and the human possed knowledge more superior that those he has seen from the majority of the human race. He would have felt saddened by the news if it didn't leave them such a big advantage. Having to go up against another being with the intelligence that's equal or greater than the madman would overwhelm their small group sooner or later.

Holding his breath, he waited for the patchwork powerhouse to pass and snook over the read, wishing to never encounter something as shocking as that. Deep in his mind, he prayed for their continued invisibility to G.U.N's radar and continued in his quest to see his friends.

If they where growing wiser, it was a matter of time before his group got caught.

Rogue visibly cringed at the tense atmosphere as the doctor lead them back to control room. Shadow was still clutching the gem in his hand as he glared at the metal floor. He had crushed the tracker she had planted when they hugged and was throwing her the occasional mistrusting glance. Despite his supposed meltdown earlier, he seemed to have closed back up as if nothing happened.

Sighing, she looked down to her own emerald, see the obvious signs of a fake. Being a jewel thief, she knew what gem was real and which weren't, but she did recognise this one. Tails had created it in order to fool Eggman into retrieving it instead of the real emerald. It would have worked if it weren't for the fact that it was incompatible with the others. It was a shame really. If it had held out a few more hours, they would have captured the real yellow Chaos Emerald and wouldn't have ended up stranded in this world. Regardless, she couldn't change the past and at least Tails would be happy to have it back as a keepsake for his plane.

"You have no idea how much it delights me to see you again, Shadow! You have to give my transgressions, but I had to make sure you were the real one. It has been a long 50 years, has it not?" The large man started, his arms wide-spread and beaming down to the ultimate lifeform.

Shadow huffed, folding his arms and turning away. The infliction at the end of his speech seemed to be implying something, although he couldn't figure out what and he was too stubborn to ask.

Memories had always been a sensitive topic to him and before other's had used this to their advantage. He didn't want the man to see how vulnerable his mental state actually was, how he was so desperate to find the missing gaps of his past, but was afraid someone would fill them with fabrications or misleading facts, like before.

He wanted to remember everything as it was. He couldn't allow someone to taint the memories of their time together as a family, to spoil the memory of his dear sister, to prevent his creator's name from being soiled.

"Even so, I am curious as to how you have been holding up, old friend..." Eggman started but was shot down quickly.

Hands clenched into fists as he turned to glare at the doctor. "We are not 'friends'." Shadow declared in a seething voice. It was impossible for this man to be anything further than a stranger. He looked too young; a man in his mid-twenties to early-thirties, at maximum. Mere mortals couldn't manipulate the passage of time or found eternal youth for the 'traditional' born. So, even without his memories, there was no way he was old enough for them to be 'friends' back on the arc.

An eye twitch was his response with a frown. "My mistake. Our ... relationship has always been complicated, so to speak," he replied anonymously before turning to the middle of the control room. The holding tube was gone, replaced by a round table with the outer edge covered in large buttons you would find on a keyboard. He could feel Shadow burning holes in the back of his head but choose to get down to business first. The more time they waste, the more time the enemy has to make their moves... and, this time, he was up against an entire government and Knuckle's band of misfits.

Fan-f**king-tastic.

Four more robots later and Knuckles was itching for a fight. Every time he would see a robot in the distance, his nerves would scream at him to punch it into oblivion. Unfortunately, he couldn't without blowing his cover, and with no one to help him, he could be overwhelmed by the sheer force that seems to be roaming in Station Square.

Tired and frustrated, he settled to look for answers. There had been no sign of his comrades and he was beginning to get worried. Hopefully, someone would know what had happened to them. As much as they were capable fighters, Knuckles had taken responsibility for their safety and he wasn't likely to abandon them now, especially when stranded in this new, cruel world where everyone seemed to be after them for one reason or another.

It was lucky he seemed to spot a store-clerk closing up their workplace. The girl was in her late teens and was muttering to herself. With moments hesitation, he wondered over, careful to keep his head down in order to conceal his face. There was no point in causing necessary panic, but he needed information. "Where is everyone?" He started, using a higher pitch as much as possible. Comparable to humans, he had the height of a young child, despite how powerful his form was and didn't want to raise suspicion. He winced, knowing a hint of his gruff voice showed. "What's going on here?" He coughed slightly, hoping to pass it off as irritation of his throat.

The young woman jumped violently and turned around to face the speaker, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. She was taken aback, looking down to the two children standing only two feet in front of her. "Holy... You scared me!" She exclaimed, hand hovering over her heart. Quickly, her shock melded into concern. "You... shouldn't be out at this time," she started, voice tight. Knuckles rose an eyebrow but waited patiently for her to continue. "There's a curfew, didn't your parents tell you?" Taking a step forward, she sighed and reached out to take his hand in hers. "Come on, we should get you home before the bad man comes out to play. He hates children, and with the military robots going around, I would hate for you to be caught in the crossfire or get yourself into trouble."

Ducking under her arm, his eyes widened in alarm. "Don't touch me," he growled, quickly readjusted Blue on his back as he began to slip, causing the younger to wake up and tighten his hold. He felt a nuzzle against his neck as Blue straightened to peer over his shoulder in curiosity.

The girl paused, hand outstretched, but hesitant. Knuckles saw the confusion in her expression under the brim of his hat, causing an idea to form. "I don't want to drop my sister. She hates it when stranger's get near," he lied smoothly, taking a step back to provide some distance. Understanding replaced the confusion and he breathed inwardly. "We don't live far from here. She fell asleep at the park and I lost track of time. I must go now, our parents will be worried," he dismissed, ready to leave. His tongue felt sour, testing out the new word. He hadn't thought about his parents for a long while, trying to avoid thinking of their deaths. Being a few years old, he barely remembered them but was reminded of them every time he was guarding the master emerald alone up on Angle Island.

"Oh, okay, then. Do you want me to walk you home? Just in case? I have to babysit tonight, but I the parents are normally still there half an hour after I arrive to make sure the children are settled, I can..." Her prattling got cut off by a shake of Knuckle's head.

"We'll be fine. Goodbye." And before she could say anything, he had walked over, leaving her to wonder who the pair was and what they were doing out so late. Just to be sure though, she stuck a hand in her shoulder bag and extracted her cell phone to call her second employer to explain exactly why she was going to be late.

Greif was never new to Abraham Towers. He had his fair share of deaths of both personal and professional relations. You could say it was apart of his job description, being the head of a military organisation and whatnot. There were certain sacrifices one had to make for the good of mankind and there are countless decisions to be made- it made a lot of enemies in his timeline alone. Regardless, none has ever been a bigger threat than the doctor.

The mental scars ran deep as the cousin of his dear friend spiralled into madness. He was a kid back then, scared of what could happen, so he told his parents, who reacted, starting the catalyst for this bitter war between two families. The personal element made him more determined to not lose.

Lord did he try to fix it; to prevent the ark incident from ever escaping to the ears of the public. And he mostly succeeded, picking up where his predecessors left off. But who knew Kintobor survived. The one loose end that got away, back for revenge and what was promised to him. The young genius had always been crafty, even back then. His goals and ambitions became too great. The promise of power and control he held as an inventor.

As long as he had the brothers, there was still a sliver of hope. A light in the darkness. The bargaining chip. He refused to hand them over, even at the expense of his step-daughter's capture.

He had them in his grasp; the abominations crafted from the hands of desperate men, only for them to slip away and return to that psychopath. His pity for them grew, knowing the pair would the madman over himself. He knew what he did could have been counted as cruel, but it was necessary in order to keep the world safe. His main duty was to serve and protect the human race, and there was no other way to ensure humanity was furthest from destruction.

His grandchildren were next, he just knew it. The more he thought about it, the more he feared. His son was scared of losing his offspring, who were overcome with the grief of losing their mother to an unstable psychopath. The doctor will come looking for them, trying to reunite his family once again. His stepdaughter was seemingly compromised; he would have to put her on trial upon her return. No doubt has Kintobor told her of her origins, why she ended up as an orphan. The children would miss her dearly, but the custody papers were already being processed. It was inevitable from the start.

They would have the children, Kintobor would have the abominations.

Unfortunately, he would never settle for a tie.

It was nearly complete; his last-ditch effort to end this bitter war. Fifty years was a long time to have the pair in their custody, and G.U.N hadn't wasted any time in improving their defences. For ten long years, it had taken years to perfect, but they had nearly done it. Finally, the doctor would be stopped and earth would be safe once more.

Suddenly, the door nearly flew off of its hinges as a ragged man flew into the room, nearly stumbling over his own feet. In his hand was a cell phone that he held so tight, his knuckles were white. His face was pale as a sheet and his voice was a whisper as he spoke.

"Sir, we've captured one of the intruders!" He announced frantically. There were exclamations and sounds of fighting filtering through the device. "And they are fighting back!"

At these words, he shot to his feet, hands balling into fists.

"Show me!"

Two blurs raced through the forest and onto the streets. The blue blur huffed, watching his black and red counterpart skate silently alongside him. "Retrieval missions? What is Egghead thinking? We used to lead armies, and now some kids are worth our time?" He complained, weaving in and out of his companion's path with a snort.

The black and red being grit his teeth, trying not to snap at the blue annoyance. "As much as a point you make, you dare to question our creator motives?"

A challenging smirk appeared on his muzzle. "Don't you? As soon as he finds the flesh counterparts, we would be pushed aside. He would have no need for us anymore. That should happen, I may go on vacation, see what's up. Apparently, the human woman was supposed to go this with her family until Egghead involved her... Or, I can just join the fox boy. He saved my life, remember? So, he can't be all bad..."

A growl cut him off and he raised an amused eyebrow. The two slowed down to a stop, the red and black one's eye twitching. "Do you EVER shut up? We are on a mission and you're being loud enough that the other side of this pitiful planet can hear you!"

"Na," the blue speeder dismissed with a wave of his hand, his original's carefree attitude shining through. "Technically, that's impossible. The rate and frequency-time travels, it is bound to..." He stopped as something metal hand squeezed his neck. Inside, wires started to lengthen and constrict. Upon habit, he struggled.

"You're original is annoying. It is a shame that trait was copied over. Speak again, faker, and I won't be responsible for my actions." He tightened his hold, making the blue speeder's eyes to widen. "Do we have a deal?"

A small nod was his response as the black and red-streaked one let go, causing him to drop on the floor. He breathed heavily, staring up into the cold dead eyes of Shadow's counterpart. Secretly, he started to compare the behaviour between this Shadow and the one he knocked out yesterday.

That Shadow adored his blue original and would do anything to have him by his side. He missed those days his own counterpart embraced him, took care of him, loved him, but now they were so distant. It seemed his Shadow didn't want him around anymore, seeing him as nothing more than a nuisance...

The blue speeder wondered where they had gone wrong.

"Move it, hedgehog. We've got some human spawn to save."

It was then he ultimately decided he liked the original Shadow better.

"Let go of me, you overgrown apes!" Sticks screeched, thrashing wildly in her captor's grip.

She had spent two hours and was dozing off on a low branch in the nearest tree when two robots attack and apprehended her. Next thing she knew, she was lying on an examination table and she ended up freaking out, stabbing the head scientist with his own needle and took out serval guards before being overwhelmed. Ten minutes later, she and a handful of robots stood inside a large hall-like room. To her surprise, she was released and the robots wheeled out of the room, locking the doors behind them.

By know, the sedative effects were fully waring off, but she was too late to follow them out. Her fist pounded against the metal door, unable to breakthrough. Damn, she was stuck with those tall creatures who like to act first and ask questions later.

Letting out a deep breath, she looked around, confused before he gazes settled on a panel of glass high above the observation room. Three figures could be seen moving behind the protective screen, although it too higher for her to make anything out. With nothing else to do, she glared at them, wondering what they wanted and why they haven't killed her yet, like what those 'police' were trying to do when they first arrived.

'They're probably deciding whether to eat me alive or kill me first,' she thought, remembering the way human's would eat animals without any remorse. It disgusted her. At least the meat in their world was vegetarian-friendly. Even the chilli dogs.

Her body shifted into a defensive position, hand reaching into her dreadlocks for her trusty boomerang when she heard a mature voice echo around the room. His tone held a tint of anger, but it stayed mostly professional.

"Good evening. I am the commander of the Guardian Units of Nations based in Station Square and chairman of the board. You are hereby charged with high treason by trespassing on G.U.N's private property. Usually, this would result in a fine, sentence or death, depending on the severity of the crime, but as long as you are not apart of the Units of Nations, it falls to me to deal with you personally. It is within my right as chairman and commander of G.U.N to ensure your presence is not a threat to my staff nor the citizens of the United Federation. In accordance with the law, unregistered objects or creatures must be placed through vigorous testing in order to see if they are a threat. Under G.U.N policy, if we find you useful, you shall be granted a pardon in exchange for your service to this organisation, if not, we shall have no need for you and will dispose of you, indefinitely."

Teeth pulled back in a snarl, the beginnings of a growl beginning to form. This was simply barbaric. How can they treat another in such a way? The feeding of dread began to build as she stared warily up to the

"You have 30 seconds. Prepare yourself," the voice announced once again. True to his word, a clock cast from holo-projections on the wall shone brightly and a simple countdown clock started to ominously tick down the seconds.

As soon as the clock reached zero, a hoard of robots flooded into the room, tasers at the ready.

'Well, oh, sh*t.'

Rogue let out a breath, turning to her new companion, who stood by the wide-spread window over-looking the forest-like terrain. His arms were crossed and his face was stoic. The doctor had left ten minutes ago, proving them with blueprints of the G.U.N base with the mission to infiltrate it in order to retrieve the Choas Emeralds left within.

One look at the map was enough to send Shadow, already memorised the building from top to bottom should they ever have a chance to escape. Funny how he was using the knowledge to sneak back in. With how much the commander had messed up, he couldn't wait to taunt the man and give him the payback he so desperately deserves... and, this time, his brother wouldn't be there to stop him.

"What's the matter, Sugar?" Rogue began, striding over to him, swaying her hips. A hand fell on his shoulder and he moved away, the beginnings of a growl in his throat. He had allowed her to touch him before to keep up pretences, but now they where alone, she didn't have that right. He couldn't trust anyone anymore; that's how the Commander deceived him in the first place. After each beating, each trickery reinforced this fact.

"Back to being hostile? That's no fair. I thought we shared a moment." Her tone was sad, making him wince. Despite knowing she was doing it for effect, he hated when people were upset. Negative emotions would dance in their aura, reaching out to infect another. He could get why the humans would always say that surrounding yourself with negative people would always bring disaster. Even the simple act of worrying can make his fur stand up and put his nerves on edge. That's why he valued his brother's and Maria's company. Their light souls were something to marvel at and put him at ease whenever they were around...

His head lowered as he grounded his teeth.

His little brother...

Maria...

He shook his head. He could still save his brother. Now they were out of that horrid place, he would have to bide his time until he got a location. Hopefully, he was alright...

"He's probably fine, you know. Knuckles may be a hothead, but I guarantee that he will be fine. He took in two orphans before; the fox kit, who's name is Tails and a badger called Sticks. He's a bit rough around the edges, but he's always loyal to his friends and wouldn't harm an innocent kid."

Shadow turned, eyes widening slightly at the admittance. He hadn't given her any information and he certainly didn't speak out loud.

Could she read minds? He snorted.

No, that was a ridiculous idea.

"You know, it's okay to be worried. I would be if one of my benefactors went missing!" She sighed and glanced out of the window. Night had fallen across the landscape, leaving the half-moon shining amongst the starry sky. A content smile spread across her lips at the scene. "You know, I've always loved nights like this. It reminds me of back home when I used to sleep rough. Childhood was not a good phase for me. Kicked out at 13, was homeless until 17 when the doctor offered me a roof in exchange for my skills... Kind of miss it, you know. Playing by my own rules. I still have my own engender, but the security made up for it."

Shadow had risen an eyebrow, throwing her a look. "And, your point?"

She smiled, a laugh escaping her as she leaned against the rail. "Does there have to be one?" The glare she received made her smile develop into a smirk. "You may are an enigma to others, but I can read you like a book. The point is that life is messed up; it is a complete sh*t show. No matter how hard you try, you can't ever get it right. There are always people you wrong and things you regret and wish to forget. You lose the ones you love and watch others turn old and grey. No one ever has a happy life; no matter what people say. Your destiny is your own; so stop mopping and help me get closer to finding your brother."

A small, amused smile forced itself onto his lips without his content at those words. He held up the emerald.

"You have a funny way to tell me to do something."

Rouge snorted.

There was a few moments of silence between them, this one more conformable than the last.

"How did you know... What I was thinking, that is...?" His voice was a mutter as if afraid to ask.

Her hands tightened around the railing, eyebrows drawing together in thoughtful contemplation. "It's not that that hard, not really. It is both the easiest and most complicated to thing to understand." She turned to him, eyes shining with emotion he could not place. "Were all looking for something. It may be easy to obtain or a faraway dream, but there is always more to explore. To discover. I thought I found it all until I met Knuckles, the most clueless, yet loyal guy I've ever met. He drove me crazy with his obsession with his Emeralds, but it was something I can also admire about him. He may be one-tracked mind, but through him, I found there was more to life than my jewels and I. He opened my eyes to what my hobby was causing others distress and I found that I had to change my ways into something more productive. So, I started to treasure hunt in old ruins instead and look for the Choas Emeralds. I felt better, doing my thing without someone getting hurt." She sighed and stretched, her wings lifting slightly. She then winked at him.

"I guess the moral of the story is: always pursue your goals, but never let bystanders suffer to achieve your dreams."

Shadow stared at her in amazement, his mind running through his head. His eyes followed as she stranded him in the room. As she went, her voice reached his ears." Now, do your homework like a good boy while I take a long bath."

And with that, the door shut behind her, leaving him to his own thoughts.

TBC: